Marcos leads 8th PH space council meeting

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presided on Monday the 8th Philippine Space Council (PSC) meeting where he was briefed on the development and utilization of space science and technology in the country.

Held in Eastwood City, the meeting also served as a kick-off event for the Philippine Space Week.

President Marcos was given a brief run-through of the various projects of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) by Director General Joseph Marciano Jr., and Deputy Director General Gay Jane Perez.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. listens to Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) Director General Joel Marciano Jr., and Deputy Director General Gay Jane Perez explain the Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment's (MULA) 150-kilogram Earth Observation Satellite before proceeding to the 8th Philippine Space Council Meeting by PhilSA at the agency's head office in Quezon City on Aug. 12, 2024. PPA POOL / NOEL B. PABALATE

One was the replica of the Multilateral Unit for Land Assessment (MULA) satellite, and the other was the Pandora instruments used for air quality measurement.

The MULA Satellite is developed in the United Kingdom by 16 Filipino engineers deployed by PhilSA.

The satellite is expected to be launched in the United States within October of 2025 to March 2026 period, using SpaceX Transporter-16.

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«This will provide us with vital data for disaster resilience, environmental conservation, and national security,» Marcos said.

As part of Marcos' directive, PhilSA has forged partnerships and collaborated with space agencies of several countries, including Japan, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, and the United States.

PhilSA also received four Pandora instruments for air quality measurement, and distributed 59,455 satellite images and maps, and signed 12 space data mobilization agreements with government agencies from July 2022 to June 30, 2024.

The agency also launched the Space Data Dashboard, a system of geospatial data and information accessible to the public.

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Also present during the meeting were Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Department of Information and